transformer explosion

[rupert93r]

Ok, that seems bad.

[berndpfe]

I dont think it is water here which comes out... The arcing causes massive overheat of the device so cooling oil expands and finally leaks, then catches fire, massive smoke makes the air around the insulators conductive, this causes the final "flash" (blowing some thermal fuse obviously). only massive Co2 foaming will do the job.

[Serostern]

@berndpfe Not even that.

There were a series of faults in the system, and the shit hit the fan.

Oil gets heated, then gets released and ignited by an arc.

The oil smoke acutally increases the airs resistance.

[23chilled]

this is why you should replace your kettle every 5 years it plays hell with the electrical company and their transformers

[nolanjshettle]

yeah that's just great... massive high voltage electrical arcing... BUT LET'S SPRAY IT WITH WATER!!! BOOOOOOM!!!! NOW it's fire. :P

[BrothersFreedive]

@nolanjshettle Electrolysis, anyone??

[Cipher332]

IT'S OVER 9000 VOLTS.

[Mamurai]

@Cipher332

Vegeta, what does the scouter say about his power level?

[idgarad]

A DBZ character farted?

[hej406]

someone divided by zero :D

[brokencc1]

GEORGIA POWER WOULD BE LIKE.........pfff no. problem.

[xxHaloVidsxx]

dont tell me 1 little squirrel caused that to happen

[cyberduke23]

KABOOM. Did this one get zapped by a coronal mass ejection?

[FloodBloodful]

Chuck Norris Disco!

[yekkanator]

Ok I have NO idea why i was laughing my ass off the entire video.

[gone1045]

@yekkanator yeah me too, especially when the thermal fuse blew up at the end and everyone screamed

[davidpar2]

that xfmr was PISSED OFF

[Koaslice191]

Not a deluge system...it was the casing splitting and the oil inside vaporizing and that was the fire. The last big spark was the circuit breaker blowing.

[bowlersinger]

Watch how the deluge system kicks in at 0:14.

[begithestrange]

for best sequence press 4 again and again and again ^_^ xD

[bbbux091]

I love how it flashes all those different colors and then goes KERPOWWW!!!

[SSubermensch]

Btw how much to have this in my backyard on New Year's Eve?

[DarkDream856]

@SSubermensch well a transformer that size would probably cost around 2 million. shorting it from the inside and making it go KABOOM, priceless :p

[SSubermensch]

pretty cool

[pantyflash]

Like, how I so want one of those in my neighbourhood. Totally awesome, babes!

[ironywrit]

I love how the last thing you hear, faintly, are the words "all available units ..."

[lonewolfintj]

@ironywrit : That's probably a fireman calling in the fire trucks. (Can't spray water on the fire while the power is still on.) More interesting, though, is why someone was yelling "Rosie O'Donnell! Rosie O'Donnell!" just before the fireman said "all available units..."

[ironywrit]

@lonewolfintj tee hee.

[ironywrit]

@ironywrit I believe the man was saying "no, this side, no, this side!!!" Talking to people on the side of the road who wanted to somehow get a better vantage...

[mr125321]

When cooling oil becomes to at flash point it will explode with even the slightest amount heat

[jdcunnington]

There's cooling oil inside.

[TVdinnerFTW]

how does it burn like that... its not flammable.

[harddiskwp]

@TVdinnerFTW it is, there's a lot of epoxy and especially hundreds of liters of cooling oil in such a transformer. likely the oil has boiled as a result of the short circuit and then went off exploding.

[tonip420]

shit just got real.....

[EMaster9]

Psh, that's just Chuck Norris welding.

[ThePloyf]

@EMaster9 hahahahahaha awesome dude

[c0ssu1]

"where were th power rangers at the time of "0:00-0:34"

[spencnaz]

Paris Hilton must've turned on her plug in vibrator.

[The83rdTrombonist]

GOOD LORD THAT WAS CRAZY!

[swoop17100]

Wow! That was amazing!

[ElwoodCuse]

wait! i still function!

[Nekodoshi]

Well I bet that just absolutely ruined Mr. Smith's tee time! (...this was at a golf course, wasn't it? Who else has such an impeccable lawn.)

[Lupic1995]

I m going to ask my teacher if we can do smth like that too :)

[dustyleviz]

the fire suppression system seemed to make it worse

[ibook133]

@dustyleviz That is the cooling oil, not fire suppression, the oil expands from the heat so much that it sprays out everywhere. Known also as BLEVE.

- A

[matteng1997]

@dustyleviz On this substation there was no fire supression system. The fog you see is actually the oil inside the transformer(s) hit the boiling point and thats where they spill out, causing the fire.

[MaryStewart]

wow! i bet the cooling oil is what's causing the fire huh>?

[RoudyRaccoon]

There appears to be a porblem

[lonewolfintj]

@RoudyRaccoon : No, sir, I can assure you that here at Ives Dairy Substation, everything is perfectly ship-shape! All our equipment is inspected regularly and kept strictly to original specs! Our safety record is perfect! At our substation, nothing can possibly go worng!!!

(But on the other hand, Captain Smith also thought his ship was "unsinkable", and you know what came of *that*. Sigh.)

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world

~~WB Yeats

[youtert]

They should do this whenever a substation is due to be torn down, just for the entertainment value.

[lonewolfintj]

@youtert : I don't know about substations, but some demolition *is* done with decorative, festive pyrotechnics (in addition to the actual demolition charges). I recall one old casino building in Las Vegas that was demolished that way. Quite spectacular. Try searching You Tube for "Las Vegas casino demolition fireworks" or some such. Doing it with a substation would be spectacular, but the danger of injuries, deaths, or expensive damage to upstream equipment would likely be prohibitive.

[makmegs]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, burning mineral oil....

[4BUR4M3]

OPTIMUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[phnixlady]

It is amazing footage.

[DLPBurke]

screaming again.  Shut up.

[telepathx]

Search for telepathx on youtube for a solution to this and oher faults

[lonewolfintj]

Question: why is the guy at the end saying "Rosie O'Donnell!!! Rosie O'Donnell!!!" Here, and in the other copy of this vid at watch?v=WkDCS8xeobg

[jarrod19876]

black smoke mean oil lol

[theschoolofchuck]

Why was it arcing so long?

[ronch0]

fuck!

[plasmasoro]

black smoke.. means fuel? =S

[wlwwl]

@plasmasoro coolant (oil)

[BeatNick]

@plasmasoro Fuel = anything that can burn in a fire, this could of be numbers of chemicals, as "wlwwl" said it was probably coolant oil

[AleksM1991]

no, its the oil used to insulate the transformer...

cast resin transformers dont have this problem

[enigma800]

What you saw was an expulsion fuse blowing. They're as loud as a cannon when they go off. Notice the flash is not on the transformer, it's above it? That's where the expulsion fuse is.

[lonewolfintj]

Now that you mention it, yes, the flash was about 2 feet above the transformer, whereas the arc was to the right of the transformer. However, since the transformer exploded (note that the side walls clearly blew out, leaving only a few skeletal frame elements) about the same time the fuse blew, I'm guessing the explosion triggered the fuse.

[lonewolfintj]

Cool explosion. What is up with the commenters who say this isn't an explosion? I know an "explosion" when I see one. More specifically, this was a BLEVE. Pressure relief valves opened and let off some of the coolant, but too little and too late: she blew her top. Frightening and dangerous. I've seen a smaller transformer explode, up close. It slightly burned several children, destroyed an entire lawn (the grass never grew back), and flattened an entire tree. Nasty.

[chidorieye]

this vid has been around awhile, recycled many many times. there is a detailed explanation on the web about what happened and why. the pressure plugs did what they are supposed to do, keep the trans from turning in to a giant bomb.

[lonewolfintj]

"chidorieye", incorrect. The seals failed (either by design or by happenstance), but the transformer still "turned into a giant bomb" (as you phrase it) and exploded. Just WHAT part of that massive explosion did you miss, pray tell? I'm amazed how people can look at a horse and tell me it's an aardvark, or listen to Handel's Water Music and tell me it's The Rolling Stones... or look at a fucking EXPLOSION and tell it it's a petunia. Sigh. Wtf are you smoking???

[chidorieye]

roflolmao

[lonewolfintj]

@chidorieye , have fun.  watch?v=gx7lz5X2vKk :-)

[siahnide]

thats a fucking explosion if i've ever seen one.

[manka6]

0:17

Kaboom and a ball of fire

It fucking exploded, retards.

[wheelsofwonder]

It is an explosion. The confusion seems to be that some people figure only "high explosives" produce explosions. This is a combination deflagration and pressure explosion, which has different characteristics compared with, say, semtex detonating.

[Elettronicopazzo]

it has not explode just caught fire

if one of that explodes you may say goodbye to your life because the explosion shoots around big metal and ceramic scraps at 300 meters of distance. they can cut in half a tree.

[03vicBlack]

the arcing you see over heats the cooling oil inside causing it to expand, it only takes time before a few bolts cant hold the pressure back any more. its more like a fire ball explosion if you ask me. 5*

[bullzisnipr3]

So did you apparently miss the explosion at the end or what..

[Elettronicopazzo]

it was only a big flame. if it exploded the cameramen probably now cannot be alive

[bullzisnipr3]

Yea, a big flame is generally considered an explosion when it happens all at one time..

[aluisious]

@bullzisnipr3 It doesn't matter what people "generally consider." That was not an explosion. Explosions are, gasp, explosive. They burn at rates of thousands of feet per second and that didn't.

[lonewolfintj]

Aluisious, you are wrong. Yes, this was an "explosion". It was a "BLEVE" to be more precise. (Ives Dairy Substation, Miami, Florida, August 17th, 1993). Not all explosions "burn at thousands of feet per second". They can still kill you. An "explosion" is "something that bursts violently outward". This transformer did exactly that. Can you deny that? No, you can't. So stop spewing, it's unbecoming.

[aluisious]

@lonewolfintj Explosions create shock waves. This is a fire.

Get a life, seriously.

[lonewolfintj]

@aluisious , Explosions create shock waves, yes, as this one did. There was a fire here, yes: after this xfmr BLEVEed, it's coolant burned. Yes, this transformer "exploded". Look up "explode" in your dictionary; it means "burst outward violently", as this exploding xfmr did. Note that the sidewalls of the xfmr burst and flew outward as shrapnel at the instant of the explosion (time index 0:17). By 0:20, you can see that nothing remains of the xfmr but a few upright framing members.

[jbirm420]

@lonewolfintj THIS FUCKIN LOSER HAS TALKED SHIT ON EVERY VIDEO ON YOUTUBE. Lonewolf is a ass to mouth loser that will never get laid. LOOK UP ASSHOLE IN THE DICTIONARY AND YOUR PICTURE IS THERE ASSMUNCH

[aerotown42]

@jbirm420 he's a troll ............and nobody in there right mined gives a shit lolz

[lonewolfintj]

@jbirm420 : Talking about yourself again, eh? No need to SHOUT. We all agree with your self-descriptive comments. They all really go without saying.

(PS: Yes, yes, I know, you didn't understand that comment. Have an intelligent person explain it to you, much as a sighted person can guide a blind person.)

[PiccoloNamek]

@aluisious I think you mean that detonations create shockwaves. This was more like a deflagration.

[lonewolfintj]

"Elettronicopazzo", no, this was not "only a big flame", it was a BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion.) Look that up on Wikipedia, for more info. Also look up "Ives Dairy Substation". Yes, it exploded. No, the cameraman was not killed (he was too far away). Sorry, but you're wrong all three ways. Best not to spew about things unless you know what you're talking about. And in this case, you don't.

[manka6]

You're a gigantic idiot.

[lonewolfintj]

"Elettronicopazzo", yes, this was an "explosion"; and no, a transformer explosion such as this does not shoot shrapnel sideways 300 meters, and cannot cut a tree in half (though it often burns trees to the ground). Not enough force. This kind of explosion is a BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion), not high explosives. The pressure from the vapor increased slowly until burst point was reached, then the lid blew off (also apparently quenching the original arc).

[Zim804]

damn duck crashed into it

[Rockorollo]

nice

[RobochaoXX]

fucking awesome

[sirvossi]

spectacular

[malcolmyoungrules]

Wonder if anyone lost power :P

[davidpar2]

lol...safe bet...

[tj11112129]

@malcolmyoungrules nah bet nobody noticed

[chicago6584]

scary stuff

[tristanlist]

The shadow at the end is probably cast by the exploded residue, which becomes a dense cloud of black smoke once it has mostly burnt out.

[sloth96cky]

when the description said explosion it didnt dissapoint

[suckamsears]

crazy! electrical fires/explosions always scare the poop outta me

[onnbob]

ignore the last sentence

[LaddyDongdegs]

What is the shadow at 0:30? And why did the foam help the fire to grow instead of die?

[onnbob]

the fire grew cuz in those transformers theres oil to cool it... its like putting water on an oil fire which u sould not do. cuz we all noe oil floats. i dont dont it was foam

[Neillil411]

It was oil vapor not foam. Probably sprayed out of the transformer and cought on fire like a fuel air bomb.

[dustystix76]

exactly..with all the arcin and sparkin, it heated up the cooling oil inside the trasformer..in turn causing it to discharge onto the arcs, causing what is seen. as a firefighter, i'd use the thumb method :D

[AED1staid]

I've got the power! BOOM! Well, maybe not. Bad ass explosion!

[pkrieter]

Didn't Homer Simpson cause it with his hula santa lamp :)

[xXxmidgexXx]

i caused that. I accidentaly wired my flux capacitor to the mains so my amp meter read 1.21 GIGAGAWATTS so thats why i saw some blak some and buzzing from the xformer.

[monolithtweak]

I lol'ed

[WTOP]

My bad!

[iloveeminem200769]

holy shit!!! lol

[somedudeandacomp]

Racoon....

[bassfrontier]

That would smell great :-|

[tjtaber1988]

Aw, crap! The transformer blew!

[ncatina]

That was TOO COOL!!

[HalfBurntToast]

Well there's your problem!

[kgcwhazup]

Woops

[VanTaimak]

Coś pięknego gdy jara się 80 ton oleju transformatorowego :D

[farter1a2b3c]

this happend down the street from me just now and thats why i looked it up i didnt see it go but now i see how awfull it can be. damn right by my favorite store to :/

[cloggerhoo]

I wondered where i left my 19mm spanner.

[vidfun101]

that is what happens if you use shit capsitors! oops typo!

[animebsd]

aaa darn kids alsways thowing coathangers into the switch yard...XD

[chromebomb]

sweet

[MattRoe20]

Noooo Optimus Prime!!!

[halorunescaper]

that makes no fucking sense u hore

[rockfreak611]

he means the new transformers movie that's in the making. probably most of the ppl who saw this were looking 4 that

[fhistleb]

@MattRoe20 You made my night with this XD

[MrMoomin]

Who wants to spray water on that ?

[madb60]

it wasn't water it was mineral oil that is inside all of those transformers!!

[LiNkInPArk898000]

transformes-WARNING: not for children under the age of 6 PUT THat ONg THE god Dammed BOXES!!

[lambogeek]

A transformer blew up near our house and the electrical arc hit some guy's Mercedes

[cookiehead2]

Our professor showed us this today. He said the thing shorted out, so the arcing you see at the beginning is the active short. Then the oil tank that cools the transformer was breached and once it leaked out, it ignited and there's your fire.

[SantaDog]

That must have scared the hell out of the golfers that day...

[minghags222]

FPL is the most useless company on the face of the earth.....my transformer exploded outside of my house it took a fucking WEEK for them to fix it....and the oil and stuff was leakin out it killed eveything our lawn the trees under it....what did they do?....send a guy in a t shirt who didnt have a clue what he was doing

[Nesta0ne]

What the hell?!?

[Mikey7889]

OWNED!!!!!!

[Fastenjaw]

Wow! Never seen an explosion like that before from a transformer. That one must have been the size of a small house!

[cumesoftware]

I never tought that a transformer could burn like that.

[Triple88a]

2x.. gotta try it sometime :-P

[fallout323F]

again more work for me.

[GuyCC]

How did you manage to catch this footage? Were you just there and had a camera/cell phone camera with you?

[tall32guy]

No this was captured by a person at the firefighting station, I think I heard? Or a person at a house... Something like that.

[dspeak2]

umm.. phone the fire department LOL!

[dewdropinn1063]

The troubleman who responded to the dispatch had only moments before gone back into the control house prior to the transformer failure. If he were outside inspecting the transformer 10 seconds longer, he would not be alive to talk about it. This transformer had an internal fault and did not isolate itself from the 138kv transmission system as designed, due to a $20.00 relay.

[dewdropinn1063]

This is what happens when the protective relay on the high side switch fails with an internal fault. I know, I was on shift when this happened and delt with the outage....

[Indyrail]

This is why you do NOT piss on a fuse box.

[Puntachalupa]

Thats what happend when arnold came back from the future naked to kill john.

[Intersonus903]

The fluid we see spewing out is the mineral oil coolant that is being forced out, likely by a thermally actuated pressure relief mechanism for safety.

The short would cause the transformer to overheat internally, which would also result in an increase of the fluid pressure.

If the internal pressure hadn't been relieved like it was in this case, the transformer would've REALLY exploded.

[dewdropinn1063]

The pressure is caused by 138000 volts heating the oil in a milisecond to combustion temp. spliting the weld up the seam, nearly causing the death of a FPL troubleman.

[Intersonus903]

FPL? This happened in Florida?

I thought this video was of Con Edison equipment going up.

[prausch65]

This what happens when you fart and light a match!

[benporter1]

this is whats gonna happen after the ps3 is on for 10 minuts

[sakuraknight9274]

This is what happens when all of us use our hairdryers at the exact same time! LOL!!!!

[since804]

i heard one of these explode before during a hurricane...loud as shit.

[loetlampe]

The fireball comes from the oil that normally cooles down the parts of the transformer, an awesome video that shows how much power goes through those transformer stations.

[bornprodigy]

Thats a lot of fire.